Two men have been charged with stealing thousands of tampered gift cards from Meijer locations in Michigan.
According to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, two Chinese nationals, Guangji Zhang, 46, of Irvine, California, and Huachao Sun, 35, of Los Angeles, were charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise and two counts of possessing a fraudulent or altered transaction device.
It is alleged that the two engaged in a large-scale fraud scheme that involved stealing empty, unsold gift cards from stores and obtaining their information before returning the gift cards to be purchased by others.
The AG’s office explains how the scam works. The two would steal unused gift cards from retail stores. They would then reveal their individual redemption numbers and record them.
The scammers would then conceal the redemption numbers with adhesive to make it appear as if they had not been tampered with before returning the gift cards to the store.
Then they would use computer programs to track when any card is activated with a balance of funds. As soon as it’s activated, the scammer can transfer the balance to another digital account. When the gift card is presented and redeemed, it is already depleted.
According to the AG’s office, the investigation was launched by the US Postal Inspection Service after a suspicious package containing more than 1,500 gift cards addressed to the two defendants was discovered at a Dearborn hotel.
The FORCE Team, along with MSP detectives, conducted surveillance on the suspects who allegedly visited Meijer stores in White Lake, Waterford, Auburn Hills, Southgate, Allen Park, and Taylor over the course of two days and restocked the gift cards.
The men are thought to have had over 3,000 gift cards when they were arrested.
“Sophisticated fraud schemes undermine consumer trust and can cause significant financial harm, and I am proud of my FORCE Team for their efforts to shut down these operations and hold bad actors accountable,” Nessel told reporters.
“They will continue to pursue and prosecute those who run scams against Michigan residents and businesses. I urge everyone to be alert and cautious when purchasing gift cards. Taking a few extra moments to check for tampering can help you avoid becoming a victim.
